Couple Falls Overboard, Treads Water for 14 Hours

posted by Shelley Hazen, Newser Staff
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2 years ago

(NEWSER) – On Saturday morning, four fishermen saw birds hovering over the waters seven miles off the Hallandale Beach shore in Broward County, Florida. Usually, their presence signals fish in the water. But not this time. Instead of fish, the men—two of them off-duty sheriff’s detectives and one a firefighter/paramedic—pulled two people, Sean McGovern, 49, and Mellisa Morris, 51, out of the water, reports the Sun Sentinel. The pair had fallen off their 30-foot Island Hopper in Key Largo Friday night around 6pm, and watched their boat, which was in high gear, drift out of reach. They weren’t wearing life jackets and so far, officials don’t know what caused the incident. Fisherman Steve Couch’s working theory? "They must've been having a good time."